Perhaps the agency is right--American media outlets seem to think so, anyway. The story, originally from the Associated Press wire, was picked up in the International Herald Tribune, but few U.S. newspapers (and none of the major ones) gave the report any attention. This type of bird flu has been found several times in the U.S. already, indicating that it might indeed be par for the course, as the USDA assures us.

Still, like Gwen at Sustainable Table, I'm inclined to wonder about the possibility for the disease to mutate or spread to commercial poultry. And no one is talking about the fact that a related strain of bird flu was found in a scary number of farmed chickens in 2004, likely having spread after an outbreak two years before. A lot of those birds, coincidentally enough, lived in Maryland--and at that time, health officials were pretty freaked about the prospect that the disease could mutate or spread to other farms via migrating wild birds and farmers. I haven't seen any evidence that these possibilities have changed since then.

The good news (or consolation prize?) is that a vaccine is being developed to protect humans from the most virulent, "high-pathogenic" form of bird flu, and it appears to work, judging by recent clinical trials. A new vaccine for the birds themselves has also been proven effective.

It will be interesting to see how widely available these drugs are, and whether small family farmers and poultry workers can afford them. For now, I'll keep eating my free-range chickens--as long as they're allowed to roam outdoors.